Nanophoton Series Microscopes
Meet the RAMANfamily
The RAMANfamily combines precision optics with galvanometer scanning to match your research needs—whether you're exploring the nanoscale point by point or analyzing entire wafers with area imaging. Discover the unique strengths of RAMANtouch, RAMANwalk, and RAMANdrive. Three instruments. One game-changing technology.
The Engine Behind Nanophoton’s Speed: Galvo Scanning
Galvanometer scanning redefines how Raman microscopes interact with samples. Faster, more stable, and more versatile than stage- or table-based movement, Nanophoton systems combine both methods for the best of both worlds.
In Nanophoton systems, a galvanometer mirror precisely steers a line-shaped laser beam across the sample. This laser line excites Raman signals along a full cross-section of the sample in a single pass.
The emitted Raman light passes through a confocal slit, which ensures spatial filtering and optical sectioning, then enters a spectrograph that disperses the light by wavelength. The dispersed signal is captured by a CCD detector with a 2D pixel array.
Galvo Scanning is faster.
Galvanometer scanning uses ultra-responsive mirrors, controlled by electromagnetic actuators, to steer the laser beam with precision. Rather than moving the entire table/stage, the laser is directed optically at high-speed across the sample surface without physical contact or inertia.
Imagine a spotlight sweeping across a stage to follow the actors—smooth and precise. Now imagine moving the entire stage under a fixed light. Instantly, the advantages become clear.
Nanophoton combines it with table scanning.
Traditional Raman systems rely on table scanning, where the sample is moved step-by-step under a stationary laser beam. This mechanical method introduces delays, potential vibration, and limits imaging flexibility.
And because Nanophoton systems combine galvanometer and motorized table scanning, you get the best of both: fast optical beam movement to capture fine details in the field-of-view much faster, and stage movement for large areas.
There are three different laser modes.
In Nanophoton Raman microscopes, galvanometer mirrors control the laser’s path across X- and Y-axes, enabling:
- Point Mode
Focused spectra at precise positions - Line Mode
High-throughput linear scans across sample - AreaFlashTM Mode
Capture large Areas in a single exposure
| Galvanometer Scanning | Traditional Table Scanning | |
| Speed | Millisecond-level laser movement | Slower mechanical positioning |
| Vibration / Drift | None (no sample movement) | Potential vibration and drift |
| Scan Modes | Point, Line, Area | Point, 3D |
| Precision | Sub-micron laser positioning | Limited by stage mechanics |
| Flexibility | Combines with stage scanning when needed | Stage-only in most systems |
